Thursday, June 23, 2016

Not Another Happy Ending

We've all seen this storyline over and over again: obvious sexual tension from the get-go between the two leads, silly attempts at wooing the other half and after many "hardships", they're together. After a while you can see what'll happen from a mile away. This is why deviation from expected tropes is so crucial.

That's not the case in John McKay's Not Another Happy Ending. The first fifteen minutes or so makes it seem like it'll be different from the countless other romantic comedies from years passed. But as it wears on, it becomes quite clears that it's playing "safe" by following the familiar formula.

Why "safe" though? If you were to substitute the sun-filled locales with low-lit settings (which wouldn't take much since Not Another Happy Ending is set in Glasgow), the film would resemble more along the lines of a thriller of the decent variety. (Rule #1: stalking and what not =/= romance!)

Perhaps Tom (Stanley Weber) had the best intentions with helping Jane (Karen Gillan) and her writer's block but he sure as hell didn't have the best ideas in doing so. Some words of encouragement probably would've been enough but instead he figures that gaslighting the poor girl is the solution. (Then again, Not Another Happy Ending doesn't shy away from showing Tom as not the sharpest tool in the shed.)

Not Another Happy Ending is one of those "comedies" that excuses creepy actions as nothing more than romantic interest. (For God's sake, haven't we seen enough of this nonsense?) As well as that, there are a lot of elements going on throughout the story that are half-baked at best.